Shannon Ridge — Saturday, Jul. 22, 2023

I backpacked to the ridge and set up camp before the park boundary. There are 4-5 camping spots along the ridge before the park boundary. There is no camping before the ridge, one area a half mile into the park, and a large basecamp for climbers on Sulphide Glacier.

The Forest Service trail was just logged out so there were no trees to cross. The section between the old road and the ridge was in terrible condition. There were 2 foot deep ruts in places and the tread often consisted of jumbles of roots. The trail desperately needs to be rerouted to improve its drainage.

I day hiked from my camp up to the Sulphide Glacier. I had never hiked on a glacier before so it was an exciting experience. The snow was much less than normal for this time of year so the route to the glacier had only a few small snow fields. The trail in the park is not official and is not well maintained. It was in decent condition but I lost it near the Sulphide Glacier. I found a route onto the glacier and made my way to the basecamp near the SW edge of the glacier. I also walked as far as I safely could northward on the glacier. I eventually came across crevasses as the glacier began to curve downward.

The rest of the climber's route requires the right gear and technical skills so I did not attempt it.